Sliding into the pond off the Bengas Lake locks.

20 Israelis lighting up their marijuana in a restaurant oblivious of the other customers.

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2003-10-01 - Pokhara - Bengas Lake - Pokhara (Day 168)

This morning the sun has come out and the sky has cleared blessing Pokhara with the first nice day I have had since arriving in Pokhara. The clouds have still not cleared enough for me to get my shot of the Himalayan skyline but still it is a wonderful day for a ride and I head off to the other two lakes near Pokhara. Lonely Planet mentions that few people go there even though they are both close so I decide not to miss the chance.

Heading off I am back over amusingly the worst part of the road between Kathmandu and Pokhara, which is the 10km just at the edge of Pokhara itself. It is a mess of deep potholes and dust from the dirt roads and I am surprised that this stretch of road right on the outskirts of the city would be such a mess. However, making it past that I head down the road and asking directions I'm pointed into a small dirt road heading off into the villages. As it turns out the road went 5 kilometers through villages on a horrible dirt road which is probably the way the villagers would walk if they were going to the lake but with the bike it added more then 45 minutes to get to the lake then the return trip on the nice paved road I found on the way back.

Bengas Lake itself is a lovely green lake surrounded by low hills with the Himalayan range towering in the background. There is a little park where a number of Indian tourists were sunning themselves, little boats taking the tourists around the lake and kids playing everywhere.

A lock to the lake, which was slightly overflowing, kept my attention as some small children were using the drainage slope as a slide with the slight overflow making it into a slide. They were having a blast sliding into the water and it all made for good pictures and many smiles on the faces of the urchins when I showed them the pictures.

I decided to go up to Rupa Lake but on the steep deep trail to the lake I soon found myself mired down in mud up to the wheel hubs and both the bike and my feet covered to the point of being unrecognizable in mud. I faced the deepest point of mud yet, a gaping brown maw just waiting to eat on of my Teva sandals when I decided this wasn't going to be worth it as if I made it to the lake I'd be coming back on this path in the dark, and I'd started to try to plow the bike into the mud ruts in an effort to turn the bike around when it died leaving me stuck in the mud blocking the entire road. Kicking "The Mule" a few times, I could not get even a cough and its pull out the tools again and yet again becoming the roadside mechanic. The spark plug wasn't firing and checking the fuse box, I find that the single fuse, which covers all of the electricals on the Enfield, had blown. Now this is not a good time to be blowing a fuse as with the bike just spending a day in the shop because of the rain soaking into everything, I am wondering if there is still a short somewhere. I have just one spare fuse and if that blows then I will be stuck with the bike in the mud in the middle of nowhere. Not good. Changing her fuse, "The Mule" starts up and with my fingers crossed; I made it back down to Bengas Bazaar and then back to Pokhara without incident, which was a relief. Being stuck in the mud on that ridge would not have been pleasant.

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